Advanced PWR Courses, 2012-13
PWR offers a select number of upper division courses for students interested in doing more advanced work with topics related to writing and rhetoric.
How many students are interested in advanced writing? Look at the results of our survey of 1,254 Stanford undergraduates.
Courses in 2012-13
Spring 2013
Writing to Reach Wider Audiences: Popular, Cross-Cultural, and Digital Communication for Techies (PWR 91S)
Mondays, Wednesdays 3:15-5:05p.m., Wallenberg 125
Instructor: Alyssa O'Brien
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Engineers. Entrepreneurs. Researchers. Policy Makers. What communication tools do you need to convey your idea, product, proposal, or research to both professional and public audiences, across cultures, and through diverse media? In this project-based course, we’ll approach this question by focusing on three practical sets of communication competencies: translation, intercultural communication, and new media literacy. Students from any field or discipline are welcome, although the course may be of particular value to students majoring in science, math, technology, or public policy, as well as students interested in entrepreneurship, research, and public advocacy. Learn more about PWR 91S: Writing to Reach Wider Audiences: Popular, Cross-Cultural, and Digital Communication for Techies.
Finding Your Story (PWR 91F)
Fridays, 12:15-3:05pm, History Corner Bldg., Room 032
Instructor: Fred Luskin and Jonah Willihnganz
Terms: Spr | Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Life challenges us to become aware of the stories that shape us—family stories, cultural mythologies, even popular movies, television shows, and songs—and then create and live our own story. We face this challenge throughout our lives but perhaps most acutely as we move into adulthood; this is the period when we most need to become conscious of stories and their power, to gather wisdom, practices, and resources for finding our own story. This class, designed with seniors in mind, will illuminate and explore these resources and give you the opportunity to reflect deeply, in discussion and writing, on what truly calls to you in this life. Learn more about PWR 91F: Finding Your Story.
Winter 2013
Public Science: The Art of Writing Science for General Audiences (PWR 91S, Section 01)
Mondays, Wednesdays 9:00-10:50a.m., Wallenberg 123
Instructor: Shay Brawn
Terms: Win| Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Climategate. Vaccines and autism. The Large Hadron Collider opening up a black hole in Geneva. You don’t have to look far to find dramatic and disconcerting examples of public responses to scientific research that betray fundamental misunderstandings of how research is done and what constitutes a significant result. In a recent PEW survey, 85% of scientists polled saw the public’s lack of scientific knowledge as a major problem for science. It has implications both for funding basic research and for determining how and whether scientific findings factor into public policy decisions. Learn more about PWR 91S 01: Public Science: The Art of Writing Science for General Audiences.
Goodbye One-Star Reviews and Dwindling Pageviews: How to Improve Apps and Websites with Usability Testing (PWR 91S, Section 02)
Mondays, Wednesdays 11:00a.m.-12:50p.m., Wallenberg 331
Instructor: Erik Ellis
Terms: Win| Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
In this team-based course you’ll conduct usability tests on a real client’s website or app and will write a persuasive, evidence-based recommendation report that communicates your findings and provides specific suggestions for improvement. You will also edit highlights from your team’s videotaped usability tests to create a five-minute DVD or online video (with voiceover) to deliver to your client as a supplement to your recommendation report. No experience in website/app design, computer programming, or video editing is required. Learn more about PWR 91S 02: Goodbye One-Star Reviews and Dwindling Pageviews: How to Improve Apps and Websites with Usability Testing.
The Oral Tradition: Myth, Folklore, and Fairy Tale (PWR 91E)
Tuesdays, Thursdays 2:15p.m. - 3:45p.m., Location TBD
Instructor: Martin Shaw
Terms: Win | Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Contemporary storytelling covers a variety of media—from movies to novels, theatre, and beyond. What this course offers is an in-depth study of the roots of that practice: the oral tradition. Over the course we will explore many different motifs and structures that arise in the oral tradition, myth, folklore, and fairy tale. What universal themes do we detect, and what separates the progression of a Pacific Northwest Trickster story from an Arthurian romance? Why is it that in the early twenty-first century many of our most acclaimed art forms carry narrative forms that are thousands of years old? Star Wars, Lord of the Rings,and the recent Broadway show Jerusalem all follow scenic progressions informed by myth. Learn more about PWR 91E: The Oral Tradition: Myth, Folklore, and Fairy Tale.
Fall 2012
Your American Life (PWR 91D)
Tuesdays 3:15-6:05 p.m., Meyer 183
Instructor: Jonah Willihnganz
Terms: Aut | Units: 3 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
If unable to enroll via Axess, please contact instructor (jonahw@stanford.edu) for waitlist
Have you ever been spellbound by a simple, true story, told live or on a broadcast like This American Life or The Moth Radio Hour? If you've ever tried to create the same kind of impact with a story of your own, you'll know that however simple a story might be, telling it usually requires a lot of skill. This class will give you that skill. Learn more about PWR 91D: Your American Life.
Please click here to view previous advanced PWR course offerings.
